It’s been nearly two years since I visited the doctor for a physical or wellness check. I know this because baby boy will be two years old in December and I know that except for my yearly visit to the gynecologist, I haven’t seen a doctor since he was born. Shame on me, right? But, when was the last time you went for a routine checkup? I’m willing to bet it’s been a while too since I know we all get caught up in our everyday lives and forget to care for ourselves.

My husband is even worse than I am. He pretty much only visits a doctor when he believes there’s something wrong. I am constantly urging him to visit the doctor, but he rarely listens to me and mostly waits until he’s feeling really sick or the symptom is extreme.

The thing is that both of us have health insurance coverage and have no real excuse to not get checked up. I often think about this since there are members in my extended family that have no health insurance and the first thing they think about when they get sick is the cost of self-paying. So, routine wellness visits are pretty much non-existent for them. Fortunately, we do not have this issue.

Since August is National Immunization Awareness Month, CVS/pharmacy’s Project Health program (Proyecto Salud in Spanish) is offering free health screening events in various cities across the nation. These health screenings are focused on vaccination reviews, but also include glucose, blood pressure and BMI checks for individuals who have difficulty in accessing preventive care.

If you live in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC, you can visit a CVS near you to see about a free health screening. Additionally, every Friday in August is Flu Voucher Friday, meaning you can get a voucher for a free flu shot from your local CVS/pharmacy. I actually wish this program was offering screenings here in Orlando so that my parents and other family could take advantage and get themselves checked out.